Psychosocial care for adult and child survivors of the tsunami disaster in India.

OBJECTIVES

The tsunami disaster in South Asia affected the mental health and livelihoods of thousands of child and adult survivors, but psychological aspects of rehabilitation efforts are frequently neglected in public health initiatives.

METHODS

Professional teams from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India, traveled to the worst-affected areas in South India and implemented a mental health program of psychosocial care for child and adult survivors. This descriptive report is based on observations of child and adult survivors in Tamil Nadu State of India during January-March 2005.

OBSERVATIONS

Symptoms of emotional distress were observed in child and adult survivors. A train-the-trainer community-based model was implemented for teachers and community-level workers to respond to the emotional needs of children and adults.

CONCLUSION

In resource-poor settings with few trained mental health professionals, community workers were taught basic mental health interventions by teams of psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers. This train-the-trainer, community-based approach has implications for natural and man-made disasters in developed and developing countries.